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So shall I live, supposing thou art true,Like a deceived husband; so love's faceMay still seem love to me, though altered new;Thy looks with me, thy heart in other place:For there can live no hatred in thine eye,Therefore in that I cannot know thy change.In many's looks, the false heart's historyIs writ in moods, and frowns, and wrinkles strange. But heaven in thy creation did decreeThat in thy face sweet love should ever dwell;Whate'er thy thoughts, or thy heart's workings be,Thy looks should nothing thence, but sweetness tell.How like Eve's apple doth thy beauty grow,If thy sweet virtue answer not thy show!

This
sonnet, continuing from the previous
one, directly addresses a question which was always of great interest
to
Shakespeare: 'How can a person be other than they seem to be to the
outward
senses? What laws of nature permit hypocrisy to be such a determining
factor
in human relationships?' In the plays the drama is played out through
the
fictitious characters of a Macbeth, or an Iago, or Antonio, the
usurping
brother of Prospero in The Tempest. Here the reality is closer to home
and
the beloved himself, whose appearance is all light and virtue,
threatens
to be as deceitful as the serpent who betrayed Eve.

The question of the
youth's unfaithfulness remains
unanswered, and the poet remains in the same uncertainty as before,
nursing
his imaginary wounds, and pondering the bitterness of love.

Commentary

1. So shall I live, supposing thou art true,

Continuing from the previous
sonnet, this
line takes up the suggestion that the beloved might be false. So shall I live etc. - It seems, therefore,
that I will continue
to live in the belief that etc. The statement however reads almost as
if
it were a question: 'Must I then continue to live, like a deceived
husband
whose faith is betrayed?'. The uncertainty of syntax mirrors the
uncertainty
of the poet. He does not know if the youth has rejected him, or if he
is
yet an outcast.

2. Like a deceived husband; so love's face

so love's face = the appearance of
love (my love for you, love as it is experienced by many) may also etc.
With the suggestion also that it is the beloved's face which could be
false,
even though it looks as fair as ever.

3. May still seem love to me, though altered new;

Your love for me will still seem to be the
true love that it was before, even though in reality it will have
changed.

Even if you did dislike me you appearance
would not show it. in thine eye = in your face.

6. Therefore in that I cannot know thy change.

in that = in any looks of hatred from
you; (you may have changed towards me but your looks will not show that
you have). I cannot know thy change = I will be unable to
tell if you have changed
towards me.

7. In many's looks, the false heart's history

In many's looks = in the facial expression
of most people. the false heart's history = the record of
emotional deception and
betrayal.

8. Is writ in moods, and frowns, and wrinkles strange.

is writ in = is written as, is recorded
by. wrinkles strange = strange, untoward grimaces
and twistings of the
face.

9. But heaven in thy creation did decree

It was decreed by heaven at your birth.

10. That in thy face sweet love should ever dwell;

That your face would always be expressive
of love; that love (Cupid, Venus, Eros) should always inhabit with you.

11. Whate'er thy thoughts, or thy heart's workings be,

Whate'er = whatever. thy heart's workings = your inner thoughts and
emotions. The heart,
then as now, was often thought of as the seat of the emotions,
especially
in relation to love.

Eve's apple typified the object of
fair appearance that was inwardly harmful or evil. Eating the fruit of
the
forbidden tree resulted in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise
and
other evil consequences. According to Genesis, Eve was deceived by the
serpent
(the devil) and persuaded that by eating the fruit of the forbidden
tree
she would have knowledge of good and evil. The fruit was pleasant to
look
at, but the consequences of eating it were disastrous. See Genesis.3.6:
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took
of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with
her;
and he did eat. Traditionally the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil
was thought to be an apple, and all paintings show it as such.

14. If thy sweet virtue answer not thy show!

virtue = inner essence, moral character.
Also with a reference to behaviour and adherence to moral precepts. answer not = does not correspond to.
thy show = your outward appearance, your outward behaviour,
as distinct
from your inner motivations.